FACT#81: The dragons were inspired by geese and cats
As anyone who has been attacked by a flock of them can attest, geese can be pretty threatening. But they're not exactly vicious, firebreathing dragons, are they? Not according to Pixomondo, the special effects company that created the CGI versions of Drogon, Rhaegal and Viserion for the show. Speaking to Wiredabout how he created the movement for Daenerys's three dragons, Game of Thrones effects supervisor Sven Martin said: "we looked at big goose animals when they are on the ground, how they play with their wings even though they're not able to fly." To produce an authentic flying motion for the dragons, Martin turned to bats: "we had great footage of bats flying very close on top of a surface, so [we could see] what would they do with their wings." And for the scenes where the dragons are more relaxed, Martin explained that he wanted Emilia Clarke's Daenerys to seem almost maternal towards her favourite dragon, Drogon: "when she's stroking him, he should be a little bit like a cat."
